MOTÖRHEAD Frontman Says His 'Three Girlfriends' Make Relaxation Impossible

Metal Edge magazine recently conducted an exclusive interview with MOTÖRHEAD frontman Lemmy Kilmister. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Edge: What do you think about MP3s and downloading?

Lemmy: "Well, the more they download their favorite band, the sooner their favorite band will pack up for the lack of fuckin' having the wherewithal to carry on. Because if you take away the royalties that we get from record sales, then you take everything away. I mean, we survive on our royalties. We don't make much money on tour, you know? We just break even, more or less, so we rely completely on royalties. If you take that away, we can't have the dough to carry on at all. Simple as that, so it's up to them [the fans], you know?"

Metal Edge: What do you do for fun? How do you relax?

Lemmy: "What would I relax for? That's how they catch up with you! [Laughing] Believe me, there's no relaxation at home. I got three girlfriends I gotta keep in the air."

Metal Edge: Three?

Lemmy: "I had four, but one of them had to go back to Sweden yesterday. So there's no relaxing for me…"

Metal Edge: Four girlfriends? How do you do it?

Lemmy: "You have to be very quick… But it's all for a good cause: ME! [Laughing]"

Metal Edge: What do you miss about home when you're on the road, and what do you miss about the road when you're home?

Lemmy: "Chicks who know what I like. [Laughing] It's good to get away from the no-smoking bullshit in L.A. You can't bloody smoke anywhere now, it seems, can you? We went to a strip club in Hartford, Connecticut, right? Two clubs at each end of a long building, same owners. One side's topless and one's nude, right? In the topless half you could drink, but you couldn't smoke, and in the bottomless half, you could smoke, but you couldn't drink. I mean, what the fuck is that? [Laughing] 'Good morning! So you're an idiot, right.' "

Metal Edge: After 30 years in MOTÖRHEAD, do you feel underrated?

Lemmy: "Well, it's different at times, you know? You look at people who say, 'They're my favorite band, man! Loved 'Ace of Spades'! And that 1981…' Now it's 2005 and they still go on about that one, and they haven't heard anything since then. I mean, if it was that good, why didn't you listen to the follow-up album, you know?"

Metal Edge: Do you ever get sick of playing "Ace of Spades"?

Lemmy: "No. Funnily enough, I don't get sick of playing it, but I get sick of hearing it. I got out and the clun where I'm at, someone will put it on. I still like playing it 'cause it's a good song, you know? I'm lucky. We got famous for a good song. Imagine if we got famous for a turkey. That follows you for the rest of your life, doesn't it?"

Metal Edge: Does MOTÖRHEAD have any turkeys?

Lemmy: "Yeah, we did a few. I'm sure you can figure out which ones they are. [Laughing] 'Talking Head' was a good one — that's a fuckin' terrible song! And 'Night Side' — that was fucking atrocious. I must have had a mental operation on that one."